Tymoshenko 'does not want to be Ukrainian PM'

Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko says she does not want to be considered for the post of prime minister. Earlier, her supporters in parliament said she was one of the three favourites to be named to head a government of national unity.

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Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko says she does not want to be considered for the post of prime minister.

Earlier, her supporters in parliament said she was one of the three favourites to be named to head a government of national unity.

"It was a surprise for me when I heard that I was being proposed for the post of prime minister. Nobody agreed this with me or discussed it with me. "I am grateful for the respect this shows, but I ask not to be considered for this post," she said in comments on her website.

Ukraine's freed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has spoken to Angela Merkel by telephone, according to Reuters.

The German Chancellor "congratulated Yulia Tymoshenko on her release and expressed the certainty that her return to mainstream politics would become one of the main factors in stabilising the situation in Ukraine", a statement said.

Tymoshenko told him: "I want to say to Ukrainians that they are the bravest and best people in the world. They were able to stop a dictatorship, they have opened Ukraine's path to democracy, to freedom and to Europe.